Fiat Lux 2: Life After Death
by Magdylena Black
Summary: It’s been over two and a half years since my boyfriend murdered me. After I came back, one of my friends and I decided to team up to take down The Family, a supposedly clean group of supers with a dirty past. A continuance of Fait Lux.
1. Get Out Alive

Fiat Lux 2: Life After Death

Summary: It's been over two and a half years since my boyfriend murdered me. After I came back, one of my friends and I decided to team up to take down The Family, a supposedly clean group of supers with a dirty past.

A/N: Well guys, I'm back. And we've got the same deal as before. If you can guess who sang the chapter title, you get virtual cookies. Or, if it's a really tough one, I'll give you virtual people. What you do with them, now that's up to you. Teehee. By the way, if you haven't read the first one, you won't get this one at all. So, I highly suggest reading that one first. Oh, and i realized recently that in Fait Lux, i misspelled the first word throughout the whole thing. I really don't want to go back and fix it, so I'm probably not going to. So, just to inform you, the proper spelling is actually _fiat._

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Chapter One

Get Out Alive

"Why don't we call it quits for the night? You've got finals to study for, and your dad's gonna kill me if I get you home late again," Warren said. It's not what you think, I swear. Let me explain. It's been over two and a half years since Lash murdered me. Ever since Warren and I got different ends of a brief encounter with his dear departed mother, he and I have been working on hunting down The Family, but they've covered their tracks very well. Warren's getting ready to graduate from Sky High, while the rest of us are getting ready for our senior year. And my powers haven't caused a single headache since I died, unless it was from trying to explain to somebody how they worked.

Will and Layla are still together, and Zach and Magenta have had an on again, off again relationship since freshman year. Currently, they were off, but who's to say how long it would last. Warren dated Lindsay Rime, an ice elemental two years above him, for about a year, but they just weren't right for each other and both realized it. They parted amicably, and are still friends to this day. Ethan is currently dating Diana, a girl about two years younger than us who can move things with her mind. I don't really date anymore, save for the occasional trip to the movies with Random Guy 5. I mean, come on. If your old boyfriend not only tried to kill you, but succeeded, would you rush back into the field? Didn't think so.

Anyway, here we are, over two and a half years later, and not much has changed. Gwen and her lackeys are still in jail, and life goes on. I was torn from my reverie by my cell phone ringing. Layla's number was on the screen.

"Are you at Warren's?" she asked.

"Duh," I said. "What's up?"

"Turn on the nearest TV to channel five," she said, hanging up. Shrugging, I put my phone back in my pocket and turned on the TV. It was a video of Lash, stepping out of a courthouse.

"-jail for the past two years, and managed to get out on a flub on the justice department's part," said the broadcaster as I stood there, staring dumbly at the screen. "Apparently, he tried to strangle his girlfriend two years back, and is only getting out of it because he wasn't eighteen when they convicted him. Let's turn to Lindsay Rime at the scene."

"Thanks, Chuck," said Warren's ex-girlfriend, her pale blonde hair tumbling down her shoulders. "Well, some of us remember the story. He strangled his girlfriend at a school dance. Now he's back out on the town. Mr. Livingston!" she shouted, thrusting the microphone in his face. "If Leticia Lumin, the girl you strangled two years ago, was watching right now, what would you say to her?" Lash looked deplorably at the camera.

"I'd say I'm sorry, Tish," he said. "And I know that I've no right to even ask that you forgive-" Warren turned off the TV as he walked up behind me.

"I can't believe they're letting him walk on a fluke," he said. He put the remote down on a table. "Come on, I'll take you home." I shook my head.

"Take me to Layla's," I said. He nodded and we got in his car, a little old beater with more rust than frame. We drove silently the whole way across town to Layla's house. We made it about halfway to the door before Layla ran out and threw her arms around me.

"Are you alright?" she asked as we walked to the living room.

"A little shocked," I said, "but how else would I be feeling with my murderer on the loose again. And he had the nerve to apologize to me on TV."

"Speaking of murderers," Will said, walking into the room and handing everyone a soda, "how goes the search?"

"Well, today I stumbled across some old files that aren't supposed to exist," I said. "You know, the kind were it's tough to get out alive? Well, I finally found a name. There was something about a super named 'Inferno.'" I turned to Warren. "Any ideas?"

"It's not ringing any bells," he said, "but I'll run it by Uncle Dave. Maybe he'll know something."

"And I'll talk to Dad, see if he knows anything," I said, glancing at my watch. "Crap! We gotta go!" Warren broke many speed limits to try and get me home before my eleven o'clock curfew, but we were already a few minutes late. Warren came in with me, to try to help explain to Dad why we had missed it yet again.

"Where have you been?" Dad asked as soon as we walked through the door. When I first started hanging out with Warren, Dad had been ecstatic, remembering what his parents had been like back in the day. But then I asked him for help with our research, and suddenly he wasn't too keen on Warren anymore. "You're late."

"I know, Dad," I said, "and I'm sorry. But we had some issues to deal with." Dad gave me a look that said I'd missed one too many curfews. "Lash got out of jail tonight."

"What?!" Dad exploded. "But how?" Back when I first told Dad what Lash had done, he didn't believe me. Then the bruises had shone up the next morning, and suddenly Dad was very apologetic.

"He claimed a mistrial on the base of him having been underage and tried as an adult. And the stupid attorney didn't call me in as a witness. Idiots."

"So he walked?" Dad asked.

"Yeah," I said. "Oh, and I finally got a name from some old files. Does the name 'Inferno' mean anything to you?" Dad thought to himself for a moment.

"Not off the top of my head, no," he said. "But I guess I can go for a bit of a look-see in some of my old records. Now go to bed."

"Thanks, Dad," I said, giving him a hug. "I'll see you tomorrow, Warren." I waved at him and made my way up the stairs to my room.

A/N: So, what do you think? Is it as good as the last one was? And, do you know what group did the song Get Out Alive?

L8s.


	2. Looking for Angels

Fiat Lux 2: Life After Death

Summary: It's been over two and a half years since my boyfriend murdered me. After I came back, one of my friends and I decided to team up to take down The Family, a supposedly clean group of supers with a dirty past.

))))!!((((

Chapter Two

Looking For Angels

"Man, I'm so over finals," Zach said as we made our way to our table in the cafeteria.

"Well, just gym next," I said. "Which means we get to watch Will and Warren do Save the Citizen one last time."

"I'll be glad when it's over," Warren said, sitting down on my other side.

"That's just 'cause you're graduating," Magenta said in a surly tone. "The rest of us still have another year."

"Hey," he said, raising his hands in mock-surrender, "I did my time." I hit his shoulder with mine.

"Quit rubbing it in," I said. "Because no matter what you say, you're not gonna change our minds." He shrugged and pulled a comic book out of his bag. After lunch, we made our way to the gym.

"Alright, Hothead, Stronghold," Boomer said a few rounds in. "Who do you want to face in this, your final battle?"

"I haven't seen Layla out here in a while," Will said, looking to Warren.

"And it's been a while since Tish has been here, too," Warren said with a grin. I rolled my eyes as Layla and I made our way to the locker room.

"Think you can handle Warren?" Layla asked as we put the protective body armor on.

"Please," I scoffed. "I've been working on something new, and he won't stand a chance. Can you manage your man?"

"Duh," she laughed. We walked out to the ring and some people applauded at our confidence. As soon as we hit the floor, our smiles faded and we were staring down our opponents from across the "Mulcher of Doom."

"Hothead, Stronghold," Boomer said from his stand. "You wanna be heroes or villains?"

"Heroes," Will said, not taking his eyes off us.

"Shocker," Boomer said, marking his clipboard. "Hippie, Lumin. You must keep your opponents away from the citizen for three minutes." The citizen dropped down over the mulcher, crying its mantra. "Ready! Set! Battle!"

Warren flared up as some heavy duty vines blasted through the windows to wrap themselves around Will. Warren looked at his arms as the flames seemed to fade away. Will kept ripping at the vines, but there were always more to replace their fallen comrades. Warren glared at me and I laughed as he flared up again. You see, the big joke was, I was blocking the light and heat of his flames from him. Everyone else could see them, and, as he kept powering up, the fire just kept getting bigger.

Will managed to break through the vines and went to fly to the citizen. As Layla cast more vines after him, I tunneled some of Warren's flames at him. It was more as a hope to frighten him than to hurt him, since his super-strength gave him quite a bit of invulnerability, but it did the trick. He turned right into a maze of vines. He struggled, as if stuck in a web of spider silk rather than greenery.

"What'd you catch him in?" I asked, keeping my concentration mostly on Warren.

"Just a little super-sap. You're not the only one that's been practicing," Layla said with a laugh. I joined in, and my concentration wavered enough that Warren was able to take control of his flames again. He blasted Layla's web away, and Will got the citizen just before the mulcher did. Boomer started proclaiming the win as Warren walked over to where I stood.

"Lucky shot," I sniffed. He grinned at me and I gave him a high-five. "Congratulations on retiring undefeated from Save the Citizen."

"It was a little iffy there at the end," he said as we walked slowly towards the adjacent locker rooms. I shrugged.

"I guess you can't always go through life looking for angels," I said. I had to turn around and go back when I realized he had stopped. He was staring after me.

"Was that supposed to make sense?" he asked, a quizzical look on his face. I cocked my head to the side to think.

"I don't think so," I said, shaking my head. We both shared a little laugh as Will and Layla walked up.

"We gave them all that time alone, and as far as they've gotten is laughing?" Layla asked, a frown on her face as she once again tried to play matchmaker. She shook her head, looking to the ceiling. "Where did I go wrong?" It only made Warren and I laugh harder. Layla and I made our way into our locker room as the boys went into theirs.

"What do you think they're talking about?" she asked as we changed into our normal clothes.

"Probably how crazy you are," I said, laughing as I put my long black hair into a ponytail. She gave me 'the look' and I sighed.

"You should just stop trying with the matchmaking," I said. "It's never going to work. Warren and I are friends and that's all it's going to be."

"That's all I ever thought Will and I were gonna be," she said, brushing through her hair, "but fate turned that page. Maybe there's hope for the two of you as well."

"Yes, but things were different for you two," I said, putting my stuff in a gym bag to put in my locker. "You actually liked Will as more than a friend." She gave me another 'look.' "I'm perfectly happy being friends with Warren," I beseeched her.

"I've seen the way you look at him sometimes," she said as we stood by the locker room door, neither of us wanting to end the conversation while the other had the upper hand. "When you think no one else is looking."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, walking into the hallway and nearly running into the topic of our little chat.

"Hey," he said. We walked in silence for a while towards the student parking lot.

"You want me to come over tonight?" I asked as we threw our bags in the back of my car. It was a nice little Ford with a few touchups, such as a few boosters on the chassis, great for making vertical landings.

"Nah," he said. "Let's go to your house, see if your dad came up with anything on that name."

"Sounds like a plan to me," I said, climbing into the driver's seat. We listened to a radio news station the whole trip back to the ground, as was the norm. Most of it we had already heard, and what we hadn't wasn't really important to us, like the fact that Brad and Angelina might have put off their wedding _again_. I mean, really. Who pays attention to that stuff? Anyway, we made it to my house and went to the kitchen.

"Hey, Dad," I said as we walked into the room. He was sitting at the table, a great amount of paperwork in front of him. "Find anything?" He looked up at me, his eyes almost sad.

"I found Inferno," he said.

A/N: Gasp!! So, who is this Inferno, and what's so important about him? Well, we'll find out eventually. Maybe next chapter, if I feel like it. Oh, and yay to for knowing that Three Days Grace did Get Out Alive. So, does anyone know who did Looking for Angels? oh, and, back when i wrote this chappie, i was talking to my dad, and he told me the thing about brad and angelina, so... yeah.

L8s.


	3. All the Small Things

Fiat Lux 2: Life After Death

Summary: It's been over two and a half years since my boyfriend murdered me. After I came back, one of my friends and I decided to team up to take down The Family, a supposedly clean group of supers with a dirty past.

))))!!((((

Chapter Three

All the Small Things

Warren and I seated ourselves at the table and waited for Dad to continue.

"He's been sending orders to the rest of The Family from a small city in Indiana," he said with a sigh. "I can't find what name he's living under, so you would probably have an easier time flashing this around." He handed us a picture of a man that looked a lot like Warren, though paler rather advanced in age, dressed smartly in a business suit. "I would tell you not to go, to just let things alone, but I know you wouldn't listen anyway. So I'll just give you this advice. Searching for answers is all well and good, but those answers aren't always the ones you want." With that, he got up and left, leaving us to mull things over between ourselves. We sat in silence for a long time as Warren studied the picture.

"So, when do we leave?" I asked after a while. He looked up at me.

"What's with this we stuff?" he asked. "I'm not putting you in any more danger than I already have."

"That's not how this works, Bub," I said. "I didn't illegally hack through all those government files just to be left out as things started coming together. No way. I'm in this too deep for you to just be thinking about danger now, so forget all this chivalrous nonsense and let's figure out when we're gonna set out." He sighed, coming as close to admitting defeat as he ever did.

"We can set out in about a week," he said. "That should be enough time for us to get everything together and say our goodbyes." I nodded.

"Sounds good," I said. I looked at him sharply. "And don't even think of skipping town before then without me." He laughed and nodded.

"Deal," he said. "Now let's find a computer and do a little more research now that we have a codename to go off." We headed to my room, which I had taken great cares over the past couple of years to seed with all sorts of electronic gizmos. I locked the door behind us before heading over to a cluster of computer monitors, switching them and their respective gadgetry on. I sat in the chair and watched as each of the monitors blinked to life. Warren made for the wall of filing cabinets and began writing a new file of what we had on Inferno. I pulled up a few different databases and began looking through anything I could find connected to that name. I found nothing. It was like someone had purposely erased the name from every document, government and not. Even the file in which I had found the name seemed to not exist anymore. Which was supposed to be impossible. I said as much to Warren.

"So what do you think's going on?" he asked, leaning over the chair to look at one of the monitors.

"I think The Family might be in bed with someone very high up," I said. "Someone we missed on our original run-through of the file."

"And Inferno's not in any of these files?" he asked. I shook my head. "I wonder how high up this thing goes."

"It looking more and more likely that this goes… all the way up," I said, typing furiously to bring up the right file.

"Do you mean-"

"The very top," I said, finding the file I was looking for. The picture of a middle-aged man in glasses came up on a monitor. "Alex North, the head of the International Super-Council."

"You think the head of the ISC is helping out one of the cleanest villains in the world?" Warren asked, looking at me as if I were crazy.

"It would explain why The Family is able to stay so clean, yet get away with things like destroying your family," I said. At the mention of his family, he straightened up and nodded.

"That makes sense," he said, still studying the monitor. I jumped as somebody knocked on the door. Warren frowned, but kept his composure, as he always did. I turned off the monitors before opening the door to find Layla with carrying a tray of veggies.

"I thought you guys could use a snack," she said, walking in. she set the tray on my bed.

"Dad called you," I said, crossing my arms and staring her.

"He's just worried about you," she said, almost pleading. "And I'd have to agree with him. You don't know what you could find. You could die!"

"What, again?" I asked facetiously.

"Yes, but this time you most likely won't survive," Layla countered. "If something happens, what's your backup plan? How long do you plan on being out there? Where will you stay while you're out there? Have you really thought out all the small things?"

"Let me think," Warren said. "We'll be there as long as it takes for us to find Inferno, we can sleep in the car, and we're hoping for something to happen, so that would be a good thing. I think we've thought this through pretty well, don't you Tish?" I nodded.

"But what if you don't find him?" Layla said. "What if you spend the whole summer there and find nothing?"

"We'll stay as long as it takes," I said. "And if he runs, we'll follow him."

"But what about school?" Layla asked. "What if you don't make it back in time for our senior year?"

"I've died once," I started. "And that was supposed to be the end. By some miracle that I still don't quite understand all the way, I made it back here. But I'm on borrowed time as it is. Why spend another year in school when I can start bringing down the bad guys now?" Layla sighed.

"Alright," she said. "When do you leave?"

A/N: Yay! Another chapter done! Way to go for knowing that Looking for Angels was done by Skillet. And be sure to look for that phrase in a later chapter, because I might be using it again. So, does anybody know who did All the Small Things?

L8s.


	4. It's My Life

Fiat Lux 2: Life After Death

Summary: It's been over two and a half years since my boyfriend murdered me. After I came back, one of my friends and I decided to team up to take down The Family, a supposedly clean group of supers with a dirty past.

))))!!((((

Chapter Four

It's My Life

"Congratulations, Class of 2007," said the class valedictorian, an ex-sidekick who could change the frequency of his voice. It had made his an interesting speech. "Each of us can finally say 'it's my life.'" There was much cheering as orange caps and blue caps flew into the air. The graduates filed back down the isle and out to the lawn. The rest of us poor schmucks waited 'til the last of the grads made their way out before following. I broke away from my father and went to find Warren. I found him standing by the entrance, surrounded by his mother's family.

"Hey!" he said with a grin on his face, waving me over. I walked over to join them and his uncle gave me a pat on the back.

"Congratulations," I said, giving Warren a hug. He smiled and hugged me back.

"Thanks," he said, the smile still wide on his face.

"So you two are setting out tomorrow?" Warren's Uncle Dave said. We separated, but Warren kept an arm around my shoulders.

"That's the plan," he replied. I nodded.

"But we're not cutting ourselves off completely," I said. "I'll make sure he calls every so often." Uncle Dave laughed.

"You just try to keep him from getting into too much trouble," Warren's Aunt June said.

"Yeah right," Warren laughed. "It'll be me keeping her from jumping in head first without checking how deep the pool is." I elbowed him in the gut and everyone laughed. Layla and Will walked up to congratulate the newly graduated hero, and Layla pulled me aside.

"What's up?" I asked as she dragged me out of hearing distance. In silence, she pulled a small box from a pocket and handed it to me. "What's this?"

"Don't open it now," she said. I made it disappear upon my person. "It's for later, after you two leave." I gave her a look and she blushed. "It's not that," she said with an emphasis on the last word. "I know what you're thinking and that's not it. It's just a little something from Will and I. Mainly me."

"Thanks," I said, pulling her into a hug. "I'm gonna miss you while I'm gone."

"Just don't get into too much trouble," she laughed.

"We're all hoping that she'll not get into too much trouble," Dad said as he and Zach walked up to us. Layla and I separated and we all walked back over to where Warren and his family were. Will's parents and Ethan and his dad had already joined them as well.

"Just think," Will's dad said as we walked up. "Next year it'll be you all graduating." I smiled and nodded with the rest of them, realizing that Will must not have told his parents that I might not be back next year, even though Layla had obviously told him.

"I can't believe you're already going to be seniors," Will's mom. "It seems like just yesterday you and Layla were swimming naked in the kiddie pool."

"Mom!" Will exclaimed, making everyone laugh. "Is that the only memory you have of my childhood?" Everyone laughed even harder.

"Is that everything?" Warren asked, poised at the trunk of my car. We had agreed, after about an hour of arguing, that my car would hold up better for such a long trip. We were currently shoving duffle bag upon duffle bag into the trunk. Some of it was my clothes, some of it was his clothes, one was all of my Deathstalker books, but most of it was techno mumbo jumbo. Ah, the joys of making the hunt mobile. After carefully placing a couple of monitors on the floor of the back seat, we locked the back doors and jumped in. The trip to the SuperMax was a silent one. Finally, after making it through a few levels of security, we were at the entrance of the facility. Upon crossing the threshold, I felt an odd twinge as we passed into the de-Neutralized zone. After a few more levels of security, we were sitting on one side of a transparisteel window. We waited in more silence as the guards brought out a heavily cuffed Barron Battle. He sat opposite us and waited for Warren to speak.

"Hello, Dad," Warren said. I grabbed his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze, just to remind him I was there. He looked at me and nodded before pulling his hand away.

"Son," Battle said, nodding. "And who might this be?" He asked, turning to me.

"This is my friend Tish," Warren answered. "She met Mom a couple years back." Battle nodded and leaned back.

"So what did you want, boy?" he asked.

"I was wondering if you could tell me who this is?" Warren asked, pulling out the picture of Inferno.

"Where did you find that?" Battle asked, leaning forward in interest. Warren shrugged.

"I was going through some stuff," he said. "So who is it?"

"It's your grandfather, William Battle," Battle said. "Now where did you really find it?"

"Like I said," Warren said, standing up. I did the same (the standing part, not the talking part). "We were going through some stuff." We nodded to the guards and left. We made our way back out through security 'til we reached the car.

"Now we have a name," I said as Warren started the engine. He nodded and pulled the car out to the highway. I felt a lump in my pocket where Layla's gift was. I reached for it, but stopped. Warren was silently brooding in the driver's seat and probably not in the mood for whatever our matchmaker friend had to offer. I sighed and turned on the radio. It's going to be a long trip.

A/N: So what do you think? Any ideas on what's in the box? Because, honestly, when I put it in there, it was just a funny moment. Now I have to think of what it's going to be. Hmm… Oh! I almost forgot. Yay for for knowing that Blink 182 did All the Small Things. Yay! Now, do any of you know who did It's My Life? I hope so, because it's one of my all time favorite songs.

L8s.


	5. Numb

Fiat Lux 2: Life After Death

Summary: It's been over two and a half years since my boyfriend murdered me. After I came back, one of my friends and I decided to team up to take down The Family, a supposedly clean group of supers with a dirty past.

))))!!!!****^^^^****!!!!((((

Chapter Five

Numb

We drove in silence for what seemed like hours. More distinctly, he drove in silence while I sang (horribly, I might add- I think I might be tone-deaf) along with whatever song came on the radio, even if I didn't know the words. Every great while, I'd have Warren on the brink of a smile, but then he'd start thinking again, and it was gone. A few more hours passed, and we were going through some town in Kansas. I turned the radio off and turned to him.

"Can we stop for a few?" I asked. "I think my rear's gone numb." He pulled the car over at a little roadside park. We both got out and began walking around the park. "So what's wrong?" I asked.

"What're you talking about?" Warren asked, picking up the pace a bit. He looked sardonically back at me.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," I said, jogging to keep up with him. "You're being all silent and brooding again."

"I've just been thinking," he said. We had made our way back to the car. We began making another lap around the park before he continued. "What if your dad was right?"

"My dad?" I asked. "My dad worries too much about me. He'll do whatever he can to keep me from danger, including trying to dissuade me with words of foreboding. Don't let it bother you."

"But it does bother me," Warren said, stopping by a set of swings. We each sat, swinging slowly. "What if I get answers, but they all point to my dad being evil? And, what if somehow they sway me?"

"They won't," I said fiercely. "Villainy isn't bred like noses and eyes. Villainy is you own personal choice. No one else can choose for you. It's like… like the Force. From Star Wars? You know. The light side and the dark side. You chose your own path, all that mumbo jumbo." Warren shocked me by laughing. It was a wondrous sound, like a roar of thunder in a lightening-free storm. I looked at him and began laughing myself. We sat there for some time, just swinging and laughing. As darkness fell, we made our way back to the car.

"Why don't you lay down in the back and get a little sleep?" Warren asked as I went to get back in the passenger seat. "I'll drive for a few more hours, then we can stop for the night."

"You've been driving all day," I said. "Why don't you climb in the back, and I'll take over for a few hours." He paused, as if to contemplate, and shook his head, climbing into the driver's seat. I climbed into the passenger seat and we hit the road again. This time, it wasn't the silent torture it had been previously.

"Do you think Layla will ever give up on playing matchmaker?" Warren asked as we drove out of the town.

"I doubt it," I said. "She'll probably keep it up until one of us gets married, or in the very least in a serious relationship. Where does she even get the idea that we should be 'together?'"

"Probably 'cause we always are," Warren pointed out. "I mean, we can't blame her for her assumption. We really do spend just about every day together."

"That's because we're friends," I said. "Even if one of us were to somehow lose our minds and start liking the other, we'd never say anything. We'd be to afraid of ruining our friendship."

"Yeah, but I wonder why she can't just understand that," Warren said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, well, that's Layla for you," I said with a laugh. He laughed with me. We drove on for a few hours, chatting back and forth, until we made it to Missouri, where Warren pulled into a roadside motel. It was probably around midnight. For economy's sake, we got just the one room. We each grabbed some clothes from the car, and went to the room. Now came the tricky part.

"I'll just sleep on the floor," Warren said, grabbing a pillow and a blanket from the queen-sized bed.

"You'll do no such thing," I said, grabbing the pillow and blanket from him. "You've been driving all day. You take the bed, I'll take the floor." He tried to grab the pillow and blanket back, but I wouldn't let go.

"I'll not be the one to let the lady sleep on the floor," Warren said. We played tug-of-war for a bit, neither of us wanting to give up. "Besides, you'll probably insist on driving tomorrow."

"Well," I said, "then there is only one possible course of action. We'll have to share the bed." He was so shocked he dropped the blanket, causing me to fall backwards.

"We can't do that," he said as I caught myself. "Your dad would kill me if he found out."

"Who's gonna tell him?" I asked. "Besides, it's not like we're gonna _do_ anything. There's only one bed, and neither of us is willing to let the other sleep on the floor." He seemed to contemplate that as I put the pillow and blanket back on the bed.

"Alright," he said. I nodded and grabbed my bag. I went to the bathroom and changed into my pajamas. After brushing my teeth, I came out to find him already laying down in a pair of sweats. The TV was switched on to the local news channel. I laid down next to him and burrowed under the covers, not quite as confidant with my suggestion. I turned away from him, and a few minutes later heard the TV turn off.

I felt as much as heard him make himself comfortable next to me. Another few minutes later, I turned around to find him already sleeping serenely. _Damn him,_ I thought. _Can't he for once be as uncomfortable as I am?_ I managed, eventually, to fall into an uneasy sleep.

A/N: Well, if that wasn't awkward, I don't know what would be… Lol. Well, yay for ______ for knowing that Bon Jovi sang It's My Life. Now, do you know who sang Numb? And before you ask, yes, I was watching Star Wars as I wrote this chappie. Is that a crime?

L8s.


	6. Imaginary

Fiat Lux 2: Life After Death

Summary: It's been over two and a half years since my boyfriend murdered me. After I came back, one of my friends and I decided to team up to take down The Family, a supposedly clean group of supers with a dirty past.

))))!!!!****^^^^****!!!!((((

Chapter Six

Imaginary

I woke up a few hours later surrounded by warmth and a spicy, almost fiery aroma. My heart was pounding as I tried to roll over, only to be blocked by the arm wrapped around my waist. I turned my head to see Warren sleeping next to me, a tranquil smile on his face. _This has got to be imaginary,_ I thought as he snored lightly. I pinched my thigh. _Nope, not this time. But what if he wakes up and finds me staring at him? _I turned back the other way and closed my eyes, hoping he wouldn't wake up yet.

_So what does this mean? _I asked myself. _Do I like him? Well, he is my best friend, and he is rather attractive, but… do I like him? _I sighed in defeat, even though I was thinking to myself. _Layla's gonna be so smug if she figures this out._ My thoughts were disturbed by Warren grunting lightly in his sleep. I decided not to worry about the track my mind had taken and tried to get back to sleep. It took me a while, but I managed to drift off, trying really hard not to concentrate on the great looking guy next to me. The rest of the night was spent in the midst of a strange dream.

Warren and I were sitting in the car, when suddenly we were surrounded by a bunch of guys that looked like him, only in various stages of life. They all pointed simultaneously at the car, and it disappeared, leaving Warren and I standing in the middle of the crowd. Warren tried to power up, but couldn't. I tried as well, but had the same results. The crowd began to close in, and Warren tried to block me from them, even as I protested for his safety. I woke with a start as the first of them reached him.

"Hey, hey," Warren said calmingly, sitting up next to me. "It's alright, it was just a dream." My breathing began to slow back to normal, only to have my heart go into overdrive as he placed a comforting hand on my back.

"What time is it?" I asked, not looking at him.

"It's about seven," he answered. "I was just about to wake you." I nodded and got out of the bed. I grabbed my bag and went to take a shower. Afterwards, I threw on some shorts and a t-shirt and went back into the room, passing Warren who seemed to have been eagerly awaiting his turn in the shower. I brushed my hair with verve, trying not to think of the fact that he was naked in the shower not ten feet away from me. This new crush I'd managed to develop wasn't really being that helpful. He came out of the bathroom just as I was putting my hair in a ponytail. We put our bags back in the car, and I climbed into the driver's seat as he checked us out of the motel. He came back out and frowned at me, but didn't say anything as he climbed in the passenger's seat.

"So how'd you sleep?" he asked as I pulled onto the highway.

"Fine," I shrugged, looking at the road, the speedometer, the mirrors, everywhere but him. "You?"

"I slept magnificently," he said, stretching in his seat. It took all of my willpower to fight the urge to peek. In the end, my willpower won. Score: Willpower one, Crush nil.

"Any interesting dreams?" I asked, as innocently as I could.

"Actually, yeah," he said. When he didn't say more, I gave him a quick glance. He looked like he was contemplating. I returned my eyes to the road, and waited. Finally, he continued. "I had a dream that I woke up and we were spooning."

I gave him the most convincing laugh I could, but I'm pretty sure it still sounded fake. Sure enough, I could feel his eyes burning the side of my face. Not literally, but almost tangibly. "It's just, I had that dream too," I said, trying to cover myself. I could tell he didn't believe me. Darn it. Willpower one, Crush one.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said, again, trying to be convincing, "I'm fine. Why?"

"You're acting really weird," he said.

"Well don't you think it's strange?" I asked. He just looked at me. "I mean, we sleep in the same bed, and then both have the same dream? What gives? And who's to say it was a dream? What if we had actually woke up, without realizing it, and we were actually spooning?" I knew I was rambling, but, no matter how I tried, my mouth wouldn't stop. Willpower one, Crush two.

"Just because we had the same dream doesn't mean the fates are turning against us," he said logically. "It just means we had the same dream. Besides, I woke up before you did, and when I woke up, we weren't spooning. In fact, you had stolen all the covers and most of the bed."

I drove in silence for a moment, letting that bit sink in. Had I been dreaming when I thought we were spooning? Or was he trying to cover for himself? I was so confused. Since I knew this was getting me nowhere, I decided to do my best to put it to the back of my mind.

"So what was the name of the city where Inferno was last spotted?" I asked, changing the subject. He noticeably relaxed in the passenger's seat.

"Valparaiso," he said. "But it's more of a big town than a small city."

"Then what are we going to do?" I asked. "Walk from business to business, waving the picture around and asking if anyone has seen him?"

"Unless you've got a better plan," he said.

A/N: So, what do you think? Was it good? Oh, and congrats to __________ for knowing that Numb was by Linkin Park. Now, who did Imaginary?

L8s.


	7. Never Too Late

Fiat Lux 2: Life After Death

Summary: It's been over two and a half years since my boyfriend murdered me. After I came back, one of my friends and I decided to team up to take down The Family, a supposedly clean group of supers with a dirty past.

))))!!!!****^^^^****!!!!((((

Chapter Seven

Never Too Late

"We've been through just about every business in this stupid town," I said as we left yet another. We'd been in Valparaiso for over two weeks, and nothing. "Maybe we're too late, and he's left."

"It's never too late," Warren said as he climbed into the driver's seat. "And even if he's left town, somebody's bound to remember him."

"Unless he managed to get a hold of some memory tech," I said as I climbed into the passenger's seat. "Which is highly possible, since he's got North in his pocket."

"We don't know for certain that he's _got_ North, Tish," Warren said calmly as he pulled onto the road. "It's just another on a long list of assumptions."

"But a very reasonable assumption," I pointed out. "I mean, how else would they get away with all that they have?"

"Blackmail?" Warren said. "Bribery? Ransom?"

"I don't think so," I said, picking at my nails. "They wouldn't be able to keep something like that quiet. It'd be everywhere, and it'd never hold. It has to be North, or someone right up there."

"Come on," he said, pulling into yet another building. This one was a new-looking movie theater.

"What'll we do after this?" I asked as we both exited the car.

"No idea," Warren said, holding the door open for me. "But I'm sure we'll think of something.

"Can I help you?" the teenager behind the counter asked.

"Yes," Warren said, pulling the picture of Inferno. "I was wondering if you've seen my grandfather, William." She took the picture and studied it.

"I think I did," she said, handing it back to him. "I think he was here… what was it, a week ago? Gimme a sec." She turned and motioned over an older woman, probably a manager. "Lisa, when did that weird old guy come in for the superhero movie?"

"I think it was last Friday," Lisa said.

"Did anyone talk to him?" I asked.

"No," the teen said, "But he did show his ID for the senior discount."

"Sounds just like him," Warren lied. "Do you have any ideas where we can find him?"

"I think the woman he was with said something about the Blue Giraffe?" the teen said. "Maybe you should check there."

"The… Blue Giraffe?" I asked. "Where can we find that?"

"It's on Calumet, by K-Mart," the teen said. "It's a blue building. You can't miss it."

"Thanks," Warren said. We left the theater and went back to the car. We got in and he started the engine. "Any ideas which way Calumet is?" I grinned and pulled out a map of the city.

"Head back the way we came, 'til we get to Roosevelt," I said. I used the map to direct us to Calumet, and we found the Blue Giraffe, which turned out to be a salon, easily enough. We went in and pulled the usual 'have you seen my Grandad?' routine, and the woman at the desk went to find the boss. We sat in the proffered chairs and waited. Next thing I knew, we were surrounded by many well-muscled men. One of them grabbed me roughly by the arm, yanking me from the chair. Warren stood to protest as one more man entered the room. Inferno.

"Well well," Inferno said, clasping his hands together in front of his face. "It seems that Barron's Brat has found us. I wondered how long it would take you to start looking. You seemed so… fond of your mother. I wouldn't try that," he said as Warren went to power up. "You see, while you were waiting, I took the precaution of pushing hydrogen gas through the vents, just as a measure to keep you in line. One false move, and this whole block goes up in one big cloud."

The man holding my arm gave it a tug, nearly yanking it from its socket. He then shoved me, sending me careening into Inferno.

"But you, my dear, have complicated things," he said, continuing as if I hadn't nearly sent us both crashing to the ground. "What on Earth are you doing here?" I didn't answer. In fact, I didn't say a word. Not even when he nodded to one of the brutes next to him, and the brute's fist sank into my side. "A stubborn one, I see. You'll be a fun one to break." Inferno turned to Warren. "And I think we'll do it in front of you, since that would probably break you, too." Inferno nodded to the brutes and turned to leave. The brutes closed in around us and put blindfolds over our eyes. There was the strangest sensation of vulnerability as they pushed us this way and that, down a flight of stairs, through more twists and turns, and tossed us out into a room. The blindfolds were torn from our eyes, revealing what looked like a medieval torture chamber.

In one corner, there stood a rack on which one could be drawn-and-quartered, in another there was an open iron maiden, revealing sharp spikes set inside. There were many other torture machines, along with a lot of devices hanging on the walls, most of which I didn't recognize.

"Magnificent, aren't they?" Inferno said, walking in behind us. "Most people use more up-to-date, modern ways, but I like to stick to the proven methods." At his words, both of us started struggling, but were easily stifled. He laughed. "I think, as I said before, we'll try her first. And don't try the flames. The air in this room is full of hydrogen." The brutes holding me dragged me over to the iron maiden. "Let's see how long you last in here."

The brutes roughly shoved me into the iron contraption. I felt spikes pressing into my back and put forth my best effort to stand straighter. Inferno was laughing as they closed the front. There was a small window in front of my eyes, and I heard them sliding a lock into place. My back began to ache from the forced position, but every time I relaxed in the slightest, either the spikes in front of me or those behind me would press into my body. Soon, my clothes were torn and ragged and covered in blood from many a minor cut. My back began to sing. But through it all, I wouldn't give them the pleasure of a noise. Just as my knees were about to buckle, there was the sound of the lock being fiddled with, and the front opened. I fell forward, and didn't even have the strength to stand. But they still weren't done.

When I worked up the strength to move, I rolled over, so that I could at least see what was happening. I had just enough time to see a brute coming at me with a nasty grin on his face and a nastier club in his hand before it connected with the side of my face, sending me reeling. I closed my eyes, saving myself the psychological pain, but I could still feel more than the first club hitting me all over. I managed to keep from whimpering, but, I couldn't withhold a scream when I felt my leg crack. The beating lasted for quite some time. Eventually, when it got to the point where I could barely feel anything, and I knew that more than just my leg was broken, they stopped and pulled away. I was dragged forcibly to my feet, and I whimpered when I was forced to put weight on my leg. Warren and I were both led to a giant pit in the ground. Someone began tying our wrists.

"Now this is an interesting one," Inferno said, walking over to us. Someone else began attaching our wrist ropes to a pair of chains attached to the ceiling over the pit. "Any ideas what it is?" We both kept a stony silence. Inferno shook his head. "What are they teaching you at that school? It's an oubliette. A French prison. I think we'll let you, _hang around_ for a while." As Inferno turned away, Warren and I were both pushed out into the oubliette. There was a jerk as one of my arms was torn from its socket, but soon the swinging slowed before it finally stopped.

A/N: Wow. Bet ya weren't expecting that. So, congrats are in order for _______ for knowing that Evanescence did Imaginary. Yay!!!! Now, do you know who did Never Too Late? And yes, I was watching Jewel of the Nile before writing that last bit.

L8s.


	8. We Are the Champions

Fait Lux 2: Life After Death

Summary: It's been over two and a half years since my boyfriend murdered me. After I came back, one of my friends and I decided to team up to take down The Family, a supposedly clean group of supers with a dirty past.

))))!!!!****^^^^****!!!!((((

Chapter Eight

We Are the Champions

"Are you alright?" Warren asked as the last of the brutes left the torture chamber.

"I'm fine," I said through gritted teeth. I took a deep breath to calm myself, and winced as something stabbed my lung. To try to take my mind off of it, I looked down to see how deep the oubliette was. I couldn't see the bottom. "We're not gonna get out of this, are we?" Warren sighed.

"I don't see how," he said. "But that's no reason to give up hope. We're bound to figure out something, we always do."

"Well, seeing as how odds of that happening are probably about one billion three hundred and sixty four million to one, there's something I need to tell you," I said. I tried to take another calming breath, but felt the stabbing again. "Remember when we were driving up here, how we discussed if Layla would ever leave us be?" Warren nodded. "Well, let's just say I've gone temporarily insane." When he didn't say anything, I glanced over at him. He was studying me, like that night a few years back in the Paper Lantern. But this time, his eyes weren't filled with hope. Don't get me wrong, hope was there, but there was something else. Something I didn't recognize. And then he smiled at me. It was a smile I'd never before seen on his lips.

"How temporarily?" he asked.

"No idea," I said, shaking my head. "The past two weeks or so, and who knows how much longer it'll last."

"What would you say if I said I think I've been 'temporarily insane' for quite some time now?" he asked. I flashed him a weak grin.

"I'd say it explains the spooning," I said. I tried to laugh, but hissed as the pressure on my lung increased. "You got any kind of plan that might keep us from our doom?"

"Now this is the kind of girl that's fun to break," Inferno said, walking in. "In so much pain, yet still so persistent. I think we'll have a little more fun with you." He motioned to me, and one of the brutes took a big stick to the chain, pulling me over to the edge. They unhooked me, but left my wrists together before dragging me over to an odd looking cage. "Any ideas what this is?" When I remained silent, he continued. "It's called a whirligig."

The whirligig was a tall, narrow cage set over what looked like a heavy duty lazy susan. The brute pushed me in and slammed the door shut. He began turning a crank at the bottom, and the whirligig began to spin.

"Originally, it was a military torture," Inferno said, "for those that wouldn't follow orders. It was meant as more of a public humiliation than a real torture, but I'm sure you'll find that the feeling is still rather unpleasant." The brute began turning the crank faster. The room began to spin. I felt something in my stomach begin to rise and knew what was going to happen long before it did. Unfortunately for the brute, he didn't realize it would be so quick (due to my motion sickness), and ended up covered in my vomit. The twirling slowed, then came to a stop. A different brute opened the cage and I staggered out, limping to keep off of my leg. They pushed and prodded me over to a chair, where I almost gratefully sat, only to yelp and try to stand when hundreds of spikes forced their way through my skin. The brutes strapped my wrists to the spiked armrests.

"And I think," Inferno said as I struggled, "we'll ask you a few questions now." I glared at him stonily, keeping my mouth firmly shut. "Why are you here?" He asked, kneeling in front of me and pressing my hands into the spikes. My mouth remained shut. "I understand why Barron's brat is here, but why you?" I let out a little yelp as the spikes pushed deeper into the muscles of my hand. But when I didn't say anything, he turned and left, taking his brutes with him. Once again, Warren and I were alone. I groaned as my weight shifted in the chair.

"Are you alright?" Warren asked, concern all over his face.

"Oh, yeah. Perfect. I've just got spikes shoved places where they shouldn't be and a multitude of broken bones. But, yeah, I'm fine." I pulled my hands off of the spikes, but could do nothing for the blood.

"No need for sarcasm," he said. "I was just checking." I sighed, my lung yet again being stabbed by something broken.

"I'm sorry," I said. "It's just a little stressful, being stabbed just about everywhere at once."

"When we get out of this," he started.

"If we get out of this," I cut in.

"When we get out of this," he repeated, putting emphasis on the 'when,' "do you want to, umm… go out on a date with me?" I gave him a 'look,' and then smiled.

"Sure," I said.

"How very touching," Inferno said, once again walking into the room. "But who's to say you're going to get out of here? I'm not done with you yet." He motioned over a brute carrying a big, heavy-looking block. He set the block just behind my knees, and I whimpered as spikes were shoved through the muscles of my thighs. "So, are you going to answer my questions yet?" I gritted my teeth to keep from whimpering. "Not yet? Maybe I should ask a different one. Hmm… How about your name?" My stony silence remained. Inferno _growled_. But he stopped when I opened my mouth.

"I will get off of this thing," I said. "And when I do, I'll free Warren. And then we will rock you, because we _are _the Champions." He growled again and motioned for one of the brutes to drag Warren out of the oubliette. They got me unspiked from the chair and shoved me out of the way. Of course, they shoved me away from the door, so I still couldn't escape. But, when I fell, I landed on my side and felt something in my pocket. I put my hand in it, and pulled out the little box that Layla had given me at Warren's graduation. As Inferno's brutes began forcing Warren towards the rack, I opened the box. Inside was a small piece of paper. 'Fiat Lux. Let there be light.' Then it hit me.

A/N: Aren't you proud of me? 14 chapters of the first story and 8 of the second, and I'm finally tying in the title. Yay! Oh, and yay for ______ for knowing that Three Days Grace did Never Too Late. Now, if you don't know who did We Will Rock You, then you don't know much about music.

L8s.


	9. I'm Not Okay

Fiat Lux 2: Life After Death

Summary: It's been over two and a half years since my boyfriend murdered me. After I came back, one of my friends and I decided to team up to take down The Family, a supposedly clean group of supers with a dirty past.

))))!!!!****^^^^****!!!!((((

Chapter Nine

I'm Not Okay

_I opened the box. Inside was a small piece of paper. 'Fiat Lux. Let there be light.' Then it hit me._

It was so simple, so obvious. I couldn't believe I hadn't seen it earlier. I powered up, and the light left its sources on the ceiling and moved towards Warren, brightening as they did so. The brutes around Warren actually _screamed_ before they dropped him and ran to hide behind Inferno, who looked terrified. Warren walked over to where I lay and helped me stand. With him supporting most of my weight, we walked back to where Inferno was standing. The light surrounding us dimmed a bit, but was still there.

"Alright, now," I said between breaths. "My turn. How are you able to get away with everything? Who do you have in your pockets?" Inferno tried to pull my stony silence trick. I brightened the light, and brought a little heat.

"You know," I said, "I can only do so much heat without setting off the hydrogen, but that little bit can go a long way. So I'd fess up, if I were you." Inferno gulped. I moved the heat closer to him.

"Okay, okay," he said. "It's North." I grinned at Warren. He simply shook his head, a smile on his face.

"How long?" I asked. "How long have you had him?"

"Since he got elected," Inferno said.

"I want that in writing, in triplicate," I said. Warren sent me a confused look. I shrugged. "If we have it in writing, it's not hearsay. And every document should be in triplicate. It makes it sound so much more important." Again, Warren simply shook his head with a smile on his face.

"Done," Inferno said. He lifted his index finger towards the door, and some paper and a pen zoomed through the door, and the pen began writing. I looked at Warren and grinned. At least we knew what Inferno could do. Inferno grasped the pen and signed the last paper with a flourish before handing all three copies to me.

"Now how do we get out of here?" I asked, reading the top copy before folding them and putting them in a pocket.

"It seems we are at a impasse," Inferno said. "As it stands, you have everything and we have nothing. If you leave, we'll end up in jail. If you don't leave, we'll all die. For obvious reasons, option two is out of the question. But, I don't really like option one either."

"Let me guess," Warren said. "You'd rather let her blow up the entire block than let us go?"

"Unless you find a better option," Inferno said, a cheeky grin on his face. "And if we don't like your options, we'll improvise."

"If you improvise," I said, "then so will I. Fast and mean and all over the place. And nobody wants that, so let's say we find a peaceful ending, eh? One that ends in you going to jail and Warren and I getting out of here in one piece." One of the brutes stepped forward, looking from me to Inferno and back again.

"I'll take you back," he said, his voice shaky. "I really don't wanna be blown up." I smiled at him.

"Do you have a name?" I asked, as politely as I could, even though this was the same guy that had locked me in an iron maiden earlier.

"Johnson, ma'am," he said, his voice a little less shaky.

"There's still a problem with that plan, Johnson," Warren said. "If we leave with you, then the rest of these… people will escape. And that we can't have." Johnson started reaching for a pocket, and I increased the heat around him.

"Easy now," I said. He something out of his pocket and showed it to us. It was a cell phone. He tossed it to Warren, and Warren began dialing. Inferno was glaring daggers at Johnson, but Johnson's eyes were on Warren.

"Hey, man," Warren said as whomever was on the other end of the line answered. "How fast do your parents can get to the ISC Chamber? Good. Tell them to set off now, and arrest Alex North. Yes, now. And make sure no one knows what they're doing until their doing it. Yes we have proof. Just… get him on probable cause. We'll get you the proof as soon as we're out of here. Where? I've got no idea where we are. I'll get back to you as soon as I can." He closed the phone and turned his attention to Inferno.

"Your lackey's about to be caught," he said. "And then it's only a matter of time before he cracks and confesses to everything he's covered up for you."

"Foolish boy," Inferno all but spat. "Do you honestly think that, by taking out that one link, you'd take out the whole chain?"

"If the link's high enough," Warren said. Inferno looked at him contemptibly. Warren shot me a quick grin. "Don't worry," he said to Inferno. "You can't always go through life looking for angels." I burst into laughter, and Warren smiled. Then he turned to Johnson, and the smile left his face.

"Alright, Johnson," he said, his voice somber. "I need you to lead me out of this place." Johnson looked back at Inferno.

"But I thought you said that was a bad idea," he said.

"You misunderstand," I said, knowing what Warren meant. "I'm gonna stay here and baby-sit while you take Warren up to the surface to get help." Warren nodded, and I handed him one of the papers Inferno signed, shifting my weight from him to my good leg.

"Okay," Johnson said. He and Warren left, and the room was silent. In the two hours that it took Johnson and Warren to return with enough backup to detain the others, Inferno tried to 'reason' with me at least eight times. When the others returned, Johnson peaceably agreed to go with them into custody, while the rest put up at least a bit of a fight. But, in the end, they were all rounded up and escorted out. I promised Johnson that I'd put a good word in for him, maybe get him a lighter sentence with more parole than confinement. Warren half-carried me most of the way back before my not-broken leg collapsed. He knelt down beside me.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I said as my head swam a little. "Just… just give me a minute to get my bearings." I put an arm around his shoulders and he placed an arm around my shoulder blades to help me stand. My leg still wouldn't hold me. "Alright, maybe I'm not okay." Without a word, he put his other arm under my knees and effortlessly lifted me before he started walking along the tunnel again, catching up with the rest of the group.

"You do look a little pale," he said. I tried to nod, but my head felt heavy, and ended up just lolling against his chest. An intense wave of heat hit me, and my mind went blank.

A/N: Wow. I'm so glad I figured out how I wanted to get them out of this one. It was actually kinda tough. Yay to _______ for knowing that We Will Rock You was done by Queen. As for the rest of you, you have got to listen to it, because Freddie Mercury was a God. Well, close to it, anyway. So, do you know who did I'm Not Okay? And, while your answering that one, you can tell me what you think of this one! Isn't life grand? Lol.

L8s.


	10. I Must Be Dreaming

Fiat Lux 2: Life After Death

Summary: It's been over two and a half years since my boyfriend murdered me. After I came back, one of my friends and I decided to team up to take down The Family, a supposedly clean group of supers with a dirty past.

))))!!!!****^^^^****!!!!((((

Chapter Ten

I Must Be Dreaming

When I came too, it was with the strangest feeling of déjà vu. It felt as if I'd been here before, which I had. Warren and I were standing in the torture chamber, facing off with Inferno and his goons.

_I must be dreaming, _I thought as Warren and Johnson turned toward the door. I pinched my arm, and was shocked when it actually hurt. _What the heck's going on here?_ I had my eyes on Inferno when he grinned, which I knew couldn't be a good sign. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a book of matches.

"Don't do it," I said, raising my hand at him as he pulled out a match. Warren turned to see what was going on. I ducked my head as Inferno struck the match and everything caught at once.

This time, when I came too, I was in a pristine white room with a single window, curtains drawn. I blinked a few times before using my powers to dim the lights a bit. My vision was swimming, but I was able to make out most of my surroundings. I was laying in a hospital bed with my leg up on a brace. I was covered almost head-to-toe with white bandages, and my leg was in a thick white cast. There was no TV, and there was no other bed. There was a single white chair, which was currently occupied by Zach, who was sleeping.

"Zach!" I shouted, hoping to wake him. It worked. He nearly jumped to a start.

"Tish!" he said, his voice flooded with relief. He hugged me before sitting back down.

"Where's Warren? How long was I out? What's been happening? Where's Dad?" The questions tumbled out, each faster than the one before.

"Easy," he said. "If you don't calm down they're gonna throw me out." I shut up. "You've been in a coma for two months," he said. "Warren's in jail."

"WHAT?!" I exclaimed. "Why's Warren in jail, and what's Dad doing about it?"

"Warren's in jail because they blamed the destruction of half of a city in Indiana on him," Zach said.

"But Inferno's the one who lit the match!" I said. "Warren must have told you that!"

"I wasn't at the trial, so I don't know what Warren said," Zach said. "But the word of Barron Battle's son wasn't gonna convince many, no matter what he had to say."

"That shouldn't have anything to do with this," I said, but Zach just looked at me as if I was naïve, which I guess was a reasonable thought. I sighed. "Why isn't Dad here?" I asked, changing the subject.

"He's not allowed to visit you," he said. Before I could express my outrage on that one, he continued. "Because you're the only witness, they can't have him telling you what Warren's explanation was. It's the best way they could see to find out if he was telling the truth. Which means nobody that was at the trial is allowed to visit you, even though you were in a coma."

"This is ludicrous!" I said, barely keeping myself from shouting. "How can they not believe him? The hydrogen-rich atmosphere should've told them something!"

"Hydrogen?" Zach asked. "What hydrogen?"

"Inferno was pumping hydrogen into the air almost as soon as we stepped foot onto the premises," I said. "Fear of destroying that town is what stopped us from using our powers in the first place."

"Again, I wasn't at the trial, so I don't know how what was explained," Zach said, moving towards the door. "But I'd better get the doctor and let them know that you're awake." He left the room, and a few minutes later a doctor came in.

"I'm Dr. Jones," he said, adjusting his glasses. "I've been working your case since you came in. And I must say, you been making an amazing recovery." He began pulling off bandages, each one revealing more and more pink skin. When he was done, he handed me a small mirror. I was shocked to see that my face looked exactly like it had before, but I was even more shocked to see that my hair was already past my earlobes. And did I mention that it was back to its natural blonde?

"Was there ever anyone in your family whose power was rapid cell regeneration?" Dr. Jones asked.

"My mother," I said. He nodded.

"You must have inherited a weaker form of her ability," he said. "A normal person in the same condition would've probably stayed in that coma for years rather than months." He made a mark on my chart and began the usual poking and prodding bit that goes with a hospital stay. Then he departed, leaving me alone, my head all full of thoughts with nobody to share them with. And enter policeman.

"Ms. Lumin," he said, looking awkward and everywhere but at me.

"Can I help you?" I asked, not happy to have my solitude burst by someone other than friend or family.

"I'm Officer Brandt," he said, pulling out a pad of paper. "I was wondering if I could get a statement about what happened two months ago in Valparaiso, Indiana?"

"Wow," I said. "I wake up from two months of a comatose state and I get five minutes with my brother, who could only share bad news and worse news, I get about ten minutes with a doctor who does more than a lifetime's poking and prodding, and now I have to talk to the cops. Do you know anything about the term 'resting?' Apparently not." Officer Brandt had grown less and less comfortable during my tirade, and it was really noticeable. But he looked familiar. As he worked at getting his wits about him, I tried to figure out where I had seen him before.

"If I could just get your statement…" he said, trailing off at the end. And then it clicked.

"You were the officer that took my statement after my boyfriend strangled me," I said. He didn't flinch.

A/N: What do you think? I like it. I had some writers block, and it's taken me about a month to type this one up. I hope you're happy, cause this is about the third draft of this one. Well yay to many for knowing that My Chemical Romance did I'm Not Okay. So, on that note, who did I Must Be Dreaming?

L8s.


	11. Perfect

Fiat Lux 2: Life After Death

Summary: It's been over two and a half years since my boyfriend murdered me. After I came back, one of my friends and I decided to team up to take down The Family, a supposedly clean group of supers with a dirty past.

Chapter Eleven

Perfect

The next month was rather upsetting for me. Not only was I unable to visit Warren, but I wasn't even allowed a stopover from my father. Whom I hadn't seen in months. I did get to see Zach and the rest of the gang every so often, but they were rather busy, what with the onset of senior year. Layla's mom had come to visit a few times, and Ethan's dad visited often (of course, he was my doctor, so he had to visit often), and even Magenta had convinced her parents to spend a bit of time with me. But I didn't get any visits with Will's parents. But that was because they had been at the trial to support Warren's aunt and uncle. One day, while Zach was visiting (everyone else was working some sort of job or another) to bring me some homework, I asked for a sketch pad.

"Why?" Zach asked. "You've never been the artsy type before."

"The past two weeks I have been doing nothing but stare at the ceiling and make small talk with the plant Layla dropped off last week," I said. "I need some kind of project to sink my teeth into, if only to keep what little sanity I have."

"Okay," Zach said, "but sketching?" He looked around my room, which, other than the plant from Layla and cards from random acquaintances, was bare. "What would you sketch?"

"I know that in one class or another you guys are working on your costumes," I said, silently thanking Magenta for that tidbit. "I might as well get the preliminaries out for mine."

He consented, and by the next morning I had a nice book and a fresh pack of sharpened pencils, along with a handheld sharpener and a box full of erasers. And I threw myself into the project with something just short of obsession. I threw everything that I had learned in the past three years at that school into the costume. After two days, I held the finished product before my brother, waiting for his reaction.

"That's awesome, sis!" he said, taking the first page from my hands. "You even put all the different gadgets you want into the spots where you want them!"

"Where else would I put them?" I asked, holding back laughter.

"Seriously, Tish," he said. "I can't believe you got this done in two days."

"Yeah, Zach. I forgot to tell you that while I was in a coma I discovered the secret to the space-time continuum, and now can move throughout time at my every whim," I said, my voice a complete deadpan. He looked at me in silence for a moment before bursting out in laughter, which I heartily joined.

"How much longer are you in here?" he asked after the laughter died down.

"A couple more weeks," I said. Zach got all shifty-eyed for a moment. "What do you want, little brother?"

"Well," he said, still being shifty. "Since you have all this time, and you're not really doing anything…"

"You want me to do your costume," I said, ending his awkwardness. He nodded. I sighed. "Fine," I said. "I'll do it. And if the others want me to draw something up, I've got all the time in the world and a need of something to keep me busy."

"SWEET!" Zach shouted, causing me to laugh at him again.

The next day, the rest of the gang came by to thank me and give me an idea of what they wanted for their costumes.

"It's kinda sad that I'm the one doing this," I said to the accumulated gang. I was lying in the bed, munching on some contraband Magenta convinced the others to bring me, while they all told me their ideas.

"What do you mean?" Layla asked from her perch at the foot of my bed.

"Maj is definitely the more artistically inclined of the group," I said. "Why ask me to do all this?" The rest of the room let out a collective groan.

"You know what kind of homework they're giving us," Will said.

"Yeah," Magenta continued, "and the rest of us are being forced into the land of gainful employment."

"You're the only one of us with enough time to do it," Ethan said. He took a glance at his watch. "Speaking of time, I've got to get back to the library. My shift starts in five minutes."

"Stop by tomorrow," I said, "and I'll get the gist of what you want for your suit." We all said goodbye, and Ethan left. I looked at the others. "So who wants what?"

After about two hours of talking to the others, I had enough project to last me the rest of my hospital stay. Will wanted red, white, and blue, but not the same as his parents. Layla wanted green and a little bit of gold. Magenta wanted black and purple, and Zach, of course, wanted bright yellow. After visiting hours were over, I went to work. I didn't need the sleep, and I had stuff to do. I started with Magenta's, because I knew it would be the hardest. After I got the basics down for it, I went to work on Zach's. After his, I worked on Layla's, then I finished up on Will's. after a few hours of sleep, I started adding the necessary gadgetry to the costumes.

Ethan stopped by after school, and, surprise surprise, he wanted his to be orange. I got that and a list of different gadgets, and the day's homework, out of him before shooing him off to work. I finished the basic sketch of his before drifting off again. That night, I added more to the basic sketches. The next day I spent working on masks. Will's red and blue, Layla's green and gold, Maj's black and purple, Ethan's orange and yellow, Zach's day-glo green and yellow, and mine, white and gold. I finished all of the costumes with a few days left in the hospital, so I began working on a secret project. Perfect.

A/N: Well, that's that. I hope you like it. Oh, and I Must Be Dreaming was by Evanescence. Yay for those who guessed that. Now, who did Perfect?

L8s.


	12. It Ends Tonight

Fiat Lux 2: Life After Death

Summary: It's been over two and a half years since my boyfriend murdered me. After I came back, one of my friends and I decided to team up to take down The Family, a supposedly clean group of supers with a dirty past.

))))!!!!****^^^^****!!!!((((

Chapter Twelve

It Ends Tonight

The day of my meeting with the judge, I was as nervous as heck. I had Zach, Will, and Layla helping me get ready (neither Ethan nor Magenta could get off work), but even they couldn't help much.

"Just think, Tish," Zach said, yet again trying to be helpful. "No matter which way it goes, it ends tonight."

"Gee thanks, little bro," I said, rolling my eyes. "I feel lots better now."

"Is your dad gonna be there?" Layla asked, changing the subject.

"I'd like to know the answer to that one, too," I said, turning to Zach. He shrugged.

"As far as I know," he said. "I don't know how he'd miss it. But you won't be allowed to see him until after the meeting anyway."

"That's such bull," I said darkly, scuffing the toe of my shoe against the tile floor of the hospital hallway, where we were waiting for an elevator, each of us decked out to the nines. The others looked at me. "I know why I can't see him, and I understand, but it just makes me so mad that even when I was in a coma he couldn't come visit me, in case I just happened to wake up." They weren't really sure how to respond to that, but each managed an apologetic look.

Finally, the elevator arrived at our floor. We all piled in, startling the person that was already in there. Layla glanced apologetically toward him, but other than that we ignored him. I silently fumed while the elevator descended towards the ground. The ride to the courthouse was much of the same, and we sat in silence outside of the judge's chambers. Finally I was motioned in, and my friends gave me somber, yet encouraging, smiles as I went through the door.

The judge was actually The Judge, an old super that had the ability to sense when someone was telling the truth. Which made this hearing pretty unnecessary, at least in my mind. The Judge smiled kindly at me under his handlebar moustache.

"Hello, Leticia," he said.

"Judge," I replied with a nod. "But I'm a little confused. If you can sense when someone is telling the truth, why am I even here?"

"Formality," he said. "And the fact that I wasn't here when Mr. Peace gave his testimony."

"So, when we're done here, everyone can go home?" I asked. He nodded. "Even Warren?" He nodded again. "Then let's get this cart rolling."

He smiled at me and shuffled through some papers on his desk. "Alright. This conversation will be recorded for legality's sake. Is that okay?" I nodded, and he clicked a button on a small recording device. "On June 17, 2007, what were you doing in Valparaiso, Indiana?"

"We were searching for Warren's grandfather," I said nervously.

"There's nothing to be nervous about," The Judge said. "Just remain calm and we'll get through this in a timely fashion." I took a deep breath and nodded. "Now, which grandfather were you searching for?"

"His paternal grandfather," I answered.

"And why?"

"We wanted answers," I said. He looked at me, his face telling me to explain.

"If you care to remember," I began, "back in my freshman year, Royal Pain tried to take over the school we both went to, Sky High." The Judge nodded, and I continued. "During her attempt, I died. And here's where the confusing part comes in. When I died, the ghost, or specter, or spirit, I don't know what you'd call it, but the one of Warren's mother somehow entered my mind and brought me back to life. During that time, she spoke to Warren, through me, and spoke to me in my mind. She told me about Warren's father, and how good of a man he was, and how his family murdered her and he went insane. After she left, I came too, and Warren and I decided that we would find the Battles, a.k.a. The Family."

The Judge had been nodding along, as if he'd heard the spiel before. "And what happened on the 17th of June?" he asked.

I took another deep breath before going on. "We found them. Or, rather, they ambushed us at a place where we had been looking for them. They dragged us into an old torture chamber." He held up a hand to stop me, and I obliged.

"Why did neither of you resist?" he asked. "According to the ISC, you both have rather vigorous abilities."

"They filled the room with Hydrogen gas," I said, shaking my head. "Even the smallest spark would've set it off."

"So what happened?" he asked.

"Well, after a fair amount of torture, which was why I was in the hospital, I realized that I could use my powers without causing a spark."

"And how exactly was that?" he inquired.

"Well," I said, "you see, my powers deal with light and heat, rather than flames. So as long as I didn't heat anything up so much as to light it on fire, I wouldn't set off the hydrogen. Warren turned to get help, and Inferno lit a match."

"That explains the destruction," The Judge said, "but what about those implications against Alex North?"

"Inferno implicated him," I said. "Said he'd had him since election. We had it in writing, but that was destroyed in the explosion."

"How extensive were your injuries?" he asked.

"Puncture wounds all over, broken leg, a couple of broken ribs, 2nd degree burns on all of the skin that was exposed, and just all-around busted up," I said nonchalantly. The Judge rifled through his papers and showed me a genuine smile.

"And I believe you're done," The Judge said. He motioned toward an empty door, and it swung open, revealing a really relieved, tall, tan, long-haired man.

"Warren!" I shouted, jumping to my feet. I ran to him and threw my arms around him, hugging him something fierce.

"Hey, you," he said, hugging me back. The Judge cleared his throat, and we separated, our arms still around each other. He shooed us out of his office and closed the door behind us. After exchanging hugs with everyone, Warren and I went to walk.

"Are you alright?" I asked once we left the courthouse. He nodded, pulling me closer to his side.

"How about you?" he asked. I reveled in his baritone voice.

"All healed up," I said. "I'll bear the scars for the rest of my life, but I'm healed. And I did something for you." I stepped away and dug into my pocket, pulling out an envelope. I handed it to him and he looked at me with one eyebrow up. "Go ahead, open it."

He opened it and I watched as his face went from confused to shocked in a matter of paragraphs as he read my appeal for Barron Battle's release.

"Tish," he said, "Tish! This is perfect! How did you come up with this?" I shrugged.

"Sitting in my hospital bed," I said. "I had lots of time to think, between homework and sleep." Warren nodded slowly. "I was actually thinking about our temporary insanity conversation, and it gave me the idea." Warren continued to nod as a wide grin spread across his face.

"Which one?" he asked cockily. Blushing, I pushed his shoulder with mine, though the height difference made it more his upper arm.

"The second one," I said, also grinning. We had managed to walk to a park a few blocks down from the courthouse, and I sat on a swing and he began to push me. "So now what?"

"Pardon?" he asked.

"Now what do we do?" I asked. He stopped the swing and came around to crouch in front of me.

"Well," he said, "I'd like to take you to dinner, and, if all goes well, possibly the movies. From there, it's up to you." I smiled, and he leaned forward, and our lips met. It tasted like heaven. I had finally come home.

Later that night, when we finally made it to my house, the lights were all off. We walked inside and all of our friends and families were in there, and the lights flicked on to shouts of 'Surprise!' and 'Welcome home!' from Will's family, Warren's family, Layla's family, Magenta's family, Ethan's family, and Dad, and even a 'Happy Get-Out-of-Jail-Day!' from Zack.

A/N: Well, there you go. Another story finished. Yay! Oh, and for those of you that were wondering, Perfect was done by Simple Plan. Woohoo! And, as per last time, I'll give you the answer to this chapter too. It Ends Tonight was by the All-American Rejects. Well, Part Deux down, Part Trois to go… (that means part two down, part three to go). So, see you when I get the next one ready!

L8s,

Fyre of the Funeral Pyre.


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